1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system attached peripherals, and more particularly to a system and method for power control for information handling system peripherals.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems typically run applications that generate information for presentation as visual images. Visual information is typically generated with a video graphics card and communicated to a display through a variety of standardized connections, such as VGA, DisplayPort, LVDS, USB or DVI connections. Desktop or tower information handling systems generally present information at external peripheral displays while portable information handling systems typically include an integrated display along with the ability to interact with external peripheral displays. One type of external peripheral display that is commonly used with portable information handling systems is the graphics projector. Projectors typically offer the same high resolution presentations that are available from liquid crystal displays (LCD), however, projectors project the image through a lens using a bright illumination source, such as a halogen lamp, so that the display is visible to a number or people, such as for a business presentation. The use of a data or graphics projector does add some inconvenience to an end user who has to carry the projector to the presentation, find power for the projector to use and set the projector up for use.
Recent innovations have made data projectors more convenient to use by shrinking the size of the housing that holds the projector. Such “pocket” or “pico” projectors manage to have a reduced overall size by using LED lights instead of halogen bulbs to illuminate a visual image, such as an image created with DLP technology. LED lights are typically smaller than halogen bulbs and also typically require supporting subsystems that use less room than those used by halogen bulbs. For example, LED lights run on relatively low direct current (DC) voltages as compared to high alternating current (AC) voltages needed for illumination of halogen bulbs, which generally requires a ballast to provide power to the bulb. As another example, LED lights do not typically generate substantial amounts of heat as compared with halogen bulbs, which generally require a cooling subsystem to remove the excess heat. Another advantage to LED lights used in pocket projectors is that they tend to consume less power so that, all factors considered, pocket projectors tend to be simpler to operate than conventional projectors. With their reduced power consumption, some pocket projectors are able to operate on battery power using batteries recharged by AC/DC power adapters.